Men AND women. SERIOUS LIFTERS

jonniemarie1

So i'm a pretty pettite girl. 130 pounds 5' 2''. I do about 3-4 sessions a week of HIIT or some longer jogs/ sessions on the arc trainer (just because I love cardio). I have been lifting heavy ever since i've been training (for about 2.5 years).My squats are at 175 (10 reps), straight leg deads are at 125, leg press is at 280.... theres too many exercises to go through. ANYWAY. I still havent lost the body fat that I want, though. My nutrition isn't horrible, but i've been trying to go lower with my carbs and calories to try and lose the last 10 pounds or so of fat, although I have obviously seen a huge gain in muscle and definition. However, I find it hard to train on such a low carb and calorie diet, so sometimes I just end up binging and messing everything up. So my questions for you are:
1. how much cardio do you guys do to maintain a low body fat percentage while keeping the muscle
2. What is your nutrition and macronutrients like in order to maintain the energy to train hard?

thanks

HeidiMightyRawr

Hi,
I'm cutting at the moment, so trying to shed the body fat I gained along with muscle on my bulk. - 5'8 and 147lbs.

My maintenance is around 2300-2400 net calories so I'm on 2000 net to lose. I would highly recommend only a small deficit if you want to retain as much muscle as possible. You will lose slower, but you'll find it easier to hold onto that muscle as well as keeping your lifts up.
I don't do low carb and never will (I don't get on with it at all - dizzyness, and feeling faint etc etc) My carbs are 40% (200g) and my fat and protein are both 30%, (protein = 150g, fat ~70g) Keeping your protein high, around 1g per lb body weight, or at least per lb of lean body mass, also helps you maintain muscle while you're losing fat.

For me, when I have my calories low, not only do I feel crap, but my lifts suffer quite a bit. My lifts have gone down a little as it is through cutting, but are slowly going back up again. I don't want them any more effected than they already are.

Also, I don't do any cardio. I might do like 10-20 minutes, once or twice a week if I feel like it, or want more food. It's not a regular thing though and I'm still losing, just from the deficit from food, and the lifting routine - squats and deadlifts have me sweating much more than cardio! I walk quite a bit for my day to day life though, not tons, but enough.

CaseRat

Bulking at the moment, but when I was cutting I was keeping it to a 40/40/20 split of carbs, protein and fats, and since my maintenance was around 2,400 I ate around 2,000 and lost a steady pound a week.
5 weights sessions a week of around 45 minutes, two 5km jogs and the occasional swim/surf on the weekend.

Matt_Wild

Diet is absolutely key for showing off the muscle you've gained. Drop me a message if you want me to put a diet together for you. I prep people for body building comps and the like.

This is one of the guys I've coached - http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/body-transformation-bobby-changed-attitude-won-sponsorship.html

Just in case you want to confirm my authenticity look here - http://www.gasparinutrition.co.uk/195.html

btdublin

Bulking at the moment, but when I was cutting I was keeping it to a 40/40/20 split of carbs, protein and fats, and since my maintenance was around 2,400 I ate around 2,000 and lost a steady pound a week.
5 weights sessions a week of around 45 minutes, two 5km jogs and the occasional swim/surf on the weekend.

This is a good healthy response.

Definitely stick to your focus on lifting. If you only have 10lbs left to lose you will only need to be aiming for 1 or half a pound a week loss. Make sure you are only just under maintenance but make sure you eat clean. You will prob find you will be on more overall calories therefore less likely to binge.

btdublin

This is one of the guys I've coached - http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/body-transformation-bobby-changed-attitude-won-sponsorship.html

AND WOW - this is an AMAZING RESULT!

Matt that is epic, only 12 weeks?? Do you think I could get myself down from current 22-25% BF to low teens in 12 weeks (my wedding!)

Matt_Wild

This is one of the guys I've coached - http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/body-transformation-bobby-changed-attitude-won-sponsorship.html

AND WOW - this is an AMAZING RESULT!

Matt that is epic, only 12 weeks?? Do you think I could get myself down from current 22-25% BF to low teens in 12 weeks (my wedding!)

Its possible but it really depends on many things. He gave 110% to diet, rest, cardio and lifting. If you can do that, then yes, genetics permitting, its possible.

btdublin

Thanks Matt. I unfortunately don't have a gym right now and have been struggling to justify affording one (and persuading the missus more importantly) as I tried to discuss here: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/493621-man-fat-loss-rippage-training-ideas-please

Have been running and home training (P90X), and my diet is very strict and serious. But I think I really need to lift heavy or I won't get anywhere. Know exactly what training I would do, similar to your regime for Bobby, loosely based on much touted Daniel Craig workout http://www.menshealth.com/mhlists/James_Bond_workout/
...but more focus on the big 4: Deadlift, Squats, Bench, Pull ups.

If you have a minute to review my food diary, training and results so far that would be appreciated. I have been losing 2lbs a week, I just need to keen that consistent pace up.. 215lbs now, aim to hit 186lbs by end of May.

Sorry to the OP for hijacking your thread. All I can say is, listen to MATT!!

Matt_Wild

Drop me a message and I'll put you a diet together. Will take 10-12 weeks to cut up. At very least, you'll look much better!

TriciaZ944

So i'm a pretty pettite girl. 130 pounds 5' 2''. I do about 3-4 sessions a week of HIIT or some longer jogs/ sessions on the arc trainer (just because I love cardio). I have been lifting heavy ever since i've been training (for about 2.5 years).My squats are at 175 (10 reps), straight leg deads are at 125, leg press is at 280.... theres too many exercises to go through. ANYWAY. I still havent lost the body fat that I want, though. My nutrition isn't horrible, but i've been trying to go lower with my carbs and calories to try and lose the last 10 pounds or so of fat, although I have obviously seen a huge gain in muscle and definition. However, I find it hard to train on such a low carb and calorie diet, so sometimes I just end up binging and messing everything up. So my questions for you are:
1. how much cardio do you guys do to maintain a low body fat percentage while keeping the muscle
2. What is your nutrition and macronutrients like in order to maintain the energy to train hard?

thanks

The op have pretty much answered this. I personally struggle with eating enough and I know that hurts my training. Have you read the book the new rules of lifting for women? I would suggest that read.

erickirb

So i'm a pretty pettite girl. 130 pounds 5' 2''. I do about 3-4 sessions a week of HIIT or some longer jogs/ sessions on the arc trainer (just because I love cardio). I have been lifting heavy ever since i've been training (for about 2.5 years).My squats are at 175 (10 reps), straight leg deads are at 125, leg press is at 280.... theres too many exercises to go through. ANYWAY. I still havent lost the body fat that I want, though. My nutrition isn't horrible, but i've been trying to go lower with my carbs and calories to try and lose the last 10 pounds or so of fat, although I have obviously seen a huge gain in muscle and definition. However, I find it hard to train on such a low carb and calorie diet, so sometimes I just end up binging and messing everything up. So my questions for you are:
1. how much cardio do you guys do to maintain a low body fat percentage while keeping the muscle
2. What is your nutrition and macronutrients like in order to maintain the energy to train hard?

thanks

1. You don't need any, just maintain a slight caloric deficit (I do 2 cardio workouts/week 15-20 minutes each at high intensity) I would suggest a weekly weight loss goal of 0.5lbs/week and eat back the majority of the cals burned from exercise.
2. Carbs are the easiest source for you body to convert to fuel, so if you are low carb doing a lot of cardio you will be low on energy. I would suggest upping the carbs and/or dropping the amount of cardio.